I {RAN} a Half Marathon

Well, I did it folks!! It's done. Check one off the Bucket List!! Half Marathon....check!
We made a weekend of it, the family and I. We drove to Ottawa on the Friday night (about a 4 1/2 hour drive from where we live). We stayed with our family friends and had a great time. Saturday, we drove into the city and picked up our race kits at the Expo. It was PACKED!! After we picked up our kits, we went to the ByWard Market. Lots of fun browsing around, eating lunch and being entertained by two very athletic buskers!!
My amazing husband, Greg, and my equally amazing little boy Ethan, presented me with a necklace (that I am wearing in all the photos) of a runner with 21K on it! Ethan handed it to me and said "I'm so proud of you Mommy". I said thank you so much, to which he replied "It was all Daddy's idea". So honest and adorable when they are 4!! Fast Forward to RACE DAY!
Heather (my awesome sister and fellow runner) managed to find our place amongst over 10,000 runners (although I have also heard there were close to 30,000 participants but I can't confirm #'s!).

The race begins. We were in the 2nd of two wave starts. We had LOTS of room and never felt crowed out or run over. The sheer energy of the group of runners, the crowd, and the city was incredible!! I want to add here that during my training, the furthest I ran was 16K, in about 2 hours. Thankfully, they had water and gel stations as all races do, as well as the BEST idea ever, a sponge station! We also kept ourselves fueled with a natural energy drink, maple syrup water! Yummy! My personal favorite race day fuel was the HIGH FIVE (see above photo for reference)!!! Honestly, if I were feeling tired, I just ran over and got some high five fuel! The crowd was amazing and kept us pumped and reminded us constantly to remember all of the training we had been through. We were lucky enough to see our families about 10K into the run, the photo above was taken about 20 feet from where we saw them!
I really began to get tired about the 18K mark but pressed on. I was determined NOT to walk if at all possible. As we got closer and closer to the finish line, the crowd grew thicker and the cheers grew louder. "Dig Deep" "Looking Great you guys" "Not far to go!" "Keep it up Ladies"

We crossed the finish line, holding hands (we do that a lot!) at 2hours 28minutes and 09seconds!! It was overwhelming!! It was indescribable! It was the best feeling in the world!
As soon as we crossed the finish line we heard a familiar voice calling us. It was our MOM!! The best surprise EVER! She had driven almost 5 hours to surprise us at the finish line!! Such an incredible woman!
Finishing was euphoric! I have never been over come with so much emotion over RUNNING! Wow. We made our way to the Recovery Area where we stretched, ate oranges and yogurt and drank MORE water! I remember hugging Heather, and crying. Honest to goodness tears of joy!

Would I do it again? If you had've asked me 2 weeks before my run, I would have told you, "No this will be the one and only". But since you are asking me now, "Hell, yeah! Sign me up for next years Half!!" So in closing, I will say this. If you are thinking of taking up running or signing up for a Half Marathon, do your self a favor. DO IT!

Heather and I minutes after finishing!

Me, my Hubby, Greg and our Son Ethan


Celebrating with a glass of Champagne!